Category Archives: road

For the first time ever I’m asking for a donation at the start for Danny Chew, who created the Dirty Dozen, which FML is based on. Danny was in a solo bicycle accident that has left him paralyzed. Money is being collected to help him with basic needs including making his home wheelchair accessible. Read more about him in this excellent story in Outside Magazine. Looking for $5 to ride and $10 if you are going for points, collected at the start. If you’d like to give additionally, you can use this link, but if riding please bring it day of.

I know there are many organizations that need your money now more than ever. But for those who have ridden this anytime since 2006 I want to remind you I took the exact concept of the Dirty Dozen and simply applied it in Los Angeles. I’ve also never charged and spent my own money for shirts, patches, bananas, coffee, etc in the past. The very least we could do now is give a little back to the Million Mile Man who inspired ten years of hill exploration in our city! Thank you for considering.

This is an event where we ride up 10 of the hardest/steepest/dumbest hills in Los Angeles. See map below.

You can buy these terrific Danny Chew benefit shirts from my good friends at Garbella. Make sure to tell them you are donating from #bikeLA and pick up a pierogi button while you are there. We will have sample sizes at the start and a way to place your order there.

Once upon a time, in a Los Angeles long past, I dreamed of an LA version of Danny Chew’s famous Pittsburgh hill race, the Dirty Dozen. I wanted ‘racers’ to ride their bike deep in the city and I wanted to show bike commuters the fun in a physically challenging ride. In other words, the manifestation of my cycling ADHD- ride everything, everywhere and keep it fun! And of course an obscure nod to BMX history.

That first year -2006- saw pouring rain and possibly more volunteers than riders, but we pulled it off. We showed that Los Angeles has paved roads as steep as anywhere (take that San Francisco) and more importantly we got people on their bikes in an auto-centric city to explore incredible, tucked away locales. I measured it successful when someone in a cycling forum refused to believe that the photos were indeed taken in Los Angeles.

And here we are nine years later at Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer #10. Number ten! Los Angeles is much improved for cycling and the number of events each week is too much for me to keep up with. This could more related to the fact that I am now in my mid-30’s, not my mid-20’s (yet somehow that doesn’t stop me from getting red light tickets on my bike, like the one I got last night!). I’d list some of the groups doing great work for cyclists, but there are so many I’m afraid I’d leave some important people out.

This a long way of saying that Sunday November 8th is this year’s event. If you are first hearing about this now, I apologize! Between my instagram, facebook and twitter I feel like I rarely write on my site anymore. Here is the facebook event.

The standard rules apply- no event-affiliated cars allowed on the route for any reason. No entry fee, no prizes, no bs. Open to anyone and everyone on a bike. Causal, non-competitive cyclists encouraged! PLEASE read through the history for more detail if you plan on riding. Here are some great photos from 2014 to get you stoked. And there’s a video below.

A huge thank you to everyone who has helped out or ridden and the entire #bikeLA world. It’s an honor to be a part of this community and this event wouldn’t be possible without you.

We make these videos to show the various ways veganism can work. We don’t preach one style of eating or body shame; we want plant-based eating and fitness to be accessible to the most people. Showing the interesting stories of athletes in a professional way has never been done. We believe activism and education can be positive, fun AND make a difference. It’s a lot of work to make these and both Sasha and I have invested a lot of time, energy and our own money into this project. So we are seriously indebted to the people who believe in us and have supported us financially!

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Usually by this time of year the hill climb event I put on, Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer, is already scheduled. Or may have already happened! This year I am pushing it to late summer or maybe even early Fall. I apologize for the delay, but a few things have prevented it from happening as normal. Don’t worry though, it will go on.

Also, I’m starting to prepare for 2015, which will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of this event! Hope to do a few extra things next year to really celebrate. Can you believe it has been that long? Long live #BikeLA.

Also in the issue is my very good friend Steevo. We rode the Great Divide mountain bike route together in 2007 (more famous for the Tour Divide race that uses the route). We’ve been friends for 20 years and bikes have been a part of that equation ever since. He’s the 10x winner of Danny Chew’s Dirty Dozen hill race in Pittsburgh, which my event is based on. More interesting than that are the stories on his blog, which you should definitely check out.

When I schedule this year’s event I will post here on this site and on my twitter, @MattRuscigno.

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Yesterday I turned 35 years old and pointed out to an also-recently-35 friend that we are the same distance in time to 50 as we are from 20. Wrap your mind around that for a minute. If that doesn’t make you turn off your computer and run off to do something more productive, I’ll continue below.

As an excuse to get together, hang out with friends at Golden Saddle Cyclery and eat Pure Luck burritos, we are hosting a screening of Eat! Sleep? Bikes! Thursday Oct 3rd at 630pm. If you are in the LA area I hope you can make it. It’s a free event with great people. I’d also like to point out that 2006 was as far in the past as 2020 is in the future. I imagine by 2020 we’ll be racing hover bikes and that predictive text will be good enough to just read my mind and I won’t have to put words in a certain order in my head or actually have to type them any more.

I’ve taken some time off from the 508 after racing it solo 3 years in a row. Two of those years involved swimming at either the pre-race meeting or the halfway point. Let’s see if we can work that in somewhere this year. If we finish, 3 of us will be in the Furnace Creek 508 Hall of Fame. I’m not sure if there’s a distinction related to swimming.

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The 8th annual Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer is now in the books! And by books I mean completed because unlike Danny Chew I do not keep detailed logs of the event. But fortunately a number of people come out and take great photos and videos so we do have documentation- see the entire history here. We had about 55 cyclists start, which is fewer than the previous couple of years, but on the other hand we had one of the lowest rates of attrition.

As always, thank you to all of the Swarm! volunteers who make this happen, especially Jesse and Jessica who ride up every hill and keep score for me. I couldn’t put this on without you two! And of course thank you to all of the riders who came out, had a great attitude and challenged themselves for no reward. The scenery and accomplishment are reward enough?!

A lot has changed in the Los Angeles bike world since I first held this event in 2006! Urban riders have become racers with regularity, racers have found the benefits of riding in the city and unsanctioned bike races are the norm. What I love is that these were the original goals of my bike club, Swarm!, way back in 2005 when we put a name to what we are doing- blurring the line between being a commuter and a racer and adding DIY ethics to everything. Bikes are more than exercise machines- they are a medium for exploring the world! Putting yourself on a bike in a city is still an act of rebellion. With that said I present to you the 2013 Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer.

Send any questions to BikeSwarm [at] gmail. Day-of announcements on twitter: @BikeSwarm
I may need some more day-of volunteers, please let me know if you can help out. Thank you!

What exactly is this?

This is a stage ‘race’ on 10 of the hardest hills in Los Angeles that started in 2006. We ride as a group between hills and then each hill is its own event with points awarded for 1st through 5th. We regroup and ride together to the next hill. The rider with the most points after 10 hills wins! It’s based on Danny Chew’s Dirty Dozen. Most riders are out there just to ride all 10 hills in one day, which is no small feat. It’s also a fun tour of hidden roads in Los Angeles.

Red- hills
Blue- route between hills
Green- route back to start from last hill

Definitely not! Most people on this ride are not racing, but are there just to ride up single every hill, which is a huge endeavor on its own.

Is there an entry fee?

No!

Are there prizes?

No!

Can I ride fixed gear?

You can try! We ride together from hill to hill and any gear that you could get up these hills with will be too low to stay with the group. You are welcome to come out and prove me wrong though. No automobile support to drive your bike around. I don’t care if you are the Messenger World Champion of the World. Using a flip flop hub is okay.

Will I get lost?

Probably not. We ride as a group from hill to hill at a chill pace. At each hill it will be obvious where to go. At any turns or confusing parts I’ll try to have chalk or a volunteer. We regroup at the top only after the last person has made it up. Either way, please familiarize yourself with the hills and the route.

How can I prepare?

Climb. A lot. Also check out all of the hills beforehand and learn the areas we ride through. A good gauge is Micheltorena off of Sunset Blvd. It’s long with steep sections and if you can make it up that comfortably I think you can hang on this ride. Another test is Fargo St, which is a monster of a hill. Most people who come out way underestimate how hard this is. Which is why more than half who start don’t finish.

Do I get a meal or picnic or something out of this?

I wish. In the past we’ve done everything from pancake breakfasts to picnics and from t-shirts to patches, all for a free event! I’m not sure we’ll be doing any of those in 2013, but I’ll see what I can do.

Who puts this on?

My bike club, known as Swarm!. We ride everything from alleycats to international UCI races. Collectively we think that the world would be a better place if people rode bikes and ate vegan food more often.

My friends want to watch, can they drive along the course and stop at the hills?

Absolutely not. We’re going to be on narrow roads in quiet neighborhoods; I don’t want to add to the car traffic. They are welcome to ride bikes along with us and I’ll help navigate the best places to see and how to get around. By the end almost half the people with us are just there to watch and cheer on the other riders! Again, no cars. I will ask you to leave. If multiple people cannot abide by this I will simply cancel this and ride away.

How long is this ride?

Plan to be done around 2pm, hopefully sooner.

Anything I can do to help?

Thanks for asking! I need help getting the word out. Please send this page to your bike club/crew/gang. I also may need some volunteers the day of. Getting up and down the hill may or may not be required. Photography is always appreciated, but again, by bike, not car. Get in touch at bikeswarm [at] gmail.

Thank you for your interest and I hope to see you at Sunset Triangle Park on Sunday the 28th!